This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.

There are 31 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

If you feel called to a life devoted to religion you might want to get ordained as a deacon, priest, or bishop in the Catholic tradition. Alternatively, you might choose to become ordained as a Protestant pastor or a Buddhist monk or nun. Finally, you could make things easy on yourself and get ordained in a less official way online. A life of prayer, devotion, and faith in service to your religion can be rigorous, but also full of rich rewards.

Ensure you’re qualified to become ordained. Only men can officially become ordained within the Catholic Church. Additionally, you must be baptized. Baptism is the ritual cleansing performed on individuals welcomed into the Catholic Church.[1]XResearch source Finally, you must be at least 35 years old to become a deacon, the lowest level of ordination through which you must pass before becoming ordained as a priest or bishop.[2]XResearch source

Marriages must be recognized by the Church. Divorces must be annulled. Widowers may not remarry and must remain celibate. If unmarried, you must remain unmarried and celibate.

Consult your family and ask God for guidance before deciding to become ordained. If married, you must receive the consent of your wife to become ordained.[3]XResearch source

Attend seminary. Seminary is a kind of preparatory school for Catholic priests. You can only attend seminary after obtaining a four-year college degree. In seminary, you’ll begin your work on a Master of Divinity (MDiv) or Master of Arts (MA) in Theology. You might also choose to obtain a doctorate in philosophy, theology, or canon law.[4]XResearch source This education will ready you to serve within the Church.

Before joining seminary, you must be screened by representatives of your local diocese to ensure you are mature enough to handle the commitment ordination entails. Your family history, spiritual life and understanding, health, and debt will be evaluated.[5]XResearch source

Engage in a variety of spiritual activities such as mass, morning and evening prayers, and spiritual retreats.

Receiving pastoral formation -- the process in which you learn how to listen to people, offer advice, work with marginalized groups like the sick and poor, and act as a mentor to others -- is a crucial part of seminary.[6]XResearch source These are the skills you will need if you are to become a priest, deacon, or bishop and serve a Catholic congregation. Spend as much time as possible in seminary developing these pastoral skills.

Apply to become ordained. If you wish to become ordained, you must submit an application to your local diocesan diaconate office. Be sure to indicate on your application whether you’re applying to become a deacon, priest, or bishop. Talk to your local priest about submitting an application to be ordained. While different states and diocese have different processes, you can expect your application to require most of the following items:[7]XResearch source

Undergo the ordination ceremonies. After your application is accepted, you will be ordained in a special ceremony recognizing your spiritual journey. You will be called to the pulpit stage by a deacon, then presented to a bishop, who will perform several sacralizing rites:

You will be given a verbal examination testing your knowledge of scripture and God.

You will then make a pledge of chastity and obedience to the Church, and lie prostrate on the floor before the bishop. The audience will then kneel and sing a religious hymn.

The most important part of the ordination is when the bishop lays his hands on your head. The laying-on of hands is performed in order to invoke the Holy Spirit -- one of the three aspects of God -- to make the ordained individual more holy and reserve him for the ministry.

Your hands will be anointed with oil. This stems from an Old Testament tradition that indicates your hands are prepared to serve the Church and its adherents by, for instance, offering the Eucharist and working to heal the sick.

The ceremony will end with you being presented with gifts by any family, friends, and spiritual mentors in attendance.[8]XResearch source

Go before a board at your church.[10]XResearch source Being ordained begins with an evaluation of your spiritual life. Speak to your pastor about your interest in becoming ordained. If your pastor supports your goal, you will be brought before a local board at your church. This board or committee will ask you questions about your interest in becoming ordained.

You might be rejected if you express a mystical belief that God has chosen you to become ordained, if you suggest or imply that ordination would simply be a personal accomplishment, if you have few other professional options or have been unsuccessful in their professional life, or if you demonstrate an inadequate understanding about the purpose of ministry. You will also likely be rejected if you have a criminal history.

To be accepted as a candidate for ordination, express a willingness to serve the church and congregation, demonstrate that you are personable and have strong people skills, and show that you are willing to work hard.

Report back to the board periodically about progress you’ve made toward becoming ordained.

Connect with a mentor. After passing the initial interview, the church might assign you a spiritual mentor -- an elder in the church or another person with strong faith -- to help guide you through the ordination process. If you are allowed to choose from a number of different potential mentors, select someone who you can communicate easily and honestly with who will keep you energized and focused throughout the ordination process.[11]XResearch source

Attend seminary.[12]XResearch source Seminary is essentially a religious school where you learn all the skills needed to become a pastor. You will receive a Master of Divinity degree from a seminary accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. You could, alternately, obtain a Master of Arts in theology, though this is not preferred.

You do not need to attend a seminary explicitly associated with your denomination.

If you do not like your seminary, talk to your mentor and church committee about transferring to another seminary.

Conduct your internship.[13]XResearch source Part of your seminary work requires completing an internship at a charity, hospital, or chaplaincy. You will engage in part-time work to gain practical experience as part of the clergy. In addition to the internship, a shorter period of internship called a practicum may be required. Check your seminary’s graduation requirements for specifics.

Engage in supplemental training.[14]XResearch source Your seminary will provide denomination-specific training so that you understand your community and denomination in greater depth. You will also need to undertake sex-abuse training to identify and understand sexual abuse. Use training materials provided by the seminary to prepare for these tests.

Write an ordination paper.[15]XResearch source Your ordination paper is like a final essay, and should include a statement of your faith and what you learned in seminary, as well as what you look forward to accomplishing during your time with the church. You should also include some information about a specific topic or topics relevant to your ordination. For instance, you might write the main body of your ordination paper on a topic like “forgiveness in the Old Testament.”

The specific format of your ordination paper depends on the requirements of your seminary program.

Become a probationary pastor. Some denominations like the United Methodists and Evangelicals have a probationary period for their pastors. You might need to rack up four years or more of ministry experience before you are properly ordained.[16]XResearch source

During this trial period, find your own voice at the pulpit and gain more experience in helping, preaching, and providing inspiration to your community of believers.

Continue learning more about your role in the church and deepening your knowledge of the Bible through daily reading and reflection.

Face the ordination interviews.[17]XResearch source The ordination process varies somewhat depending on the specific denomination, but you’ll likely need to pass an oral examination where you’ll be tested on your knowledge of scripture. You will also need to present personal references, some or all of which are from other pastors, deacons, or church elders. Talk to your mentor about the process in your church.

Familiarize yourself with Buddhist teachings and practice.[18]XResearch source The Buddhist teachings include the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Attend a Buddhist temple and improve your mediation technique.

Think carefully about Buddhist teachings and understand how they relate to your everyday experience.

Ordination within the Buddhist community is a challenging endeavor, and the vows are taken for life. If you’ve only read a few books on Buddhism and have a vague understanding of its teachings, you should not become ordained.[19]XResearch source

Have a spiritual mentor.[20]XResearch source After learning a bit about Buddhism, dive deeper with a learned Buddhist. In Buddhist tradition, it is important to have a teacher or guide to help you realize and understand the truths contained within Buddhist practice and law. Your spiritual guide will likely be another monk or nun, and they must be someone who can grant permission to ordain you.

Take refuge and vows.[21]XResearch source Taking refuge refers to the act of formally professing before a member or members of the Buddhist clergy to place your faith in the Buddha, the Sangha (the Buddhist community), and the Dharma. Five additional vows you must take include include commitments to remain free of lying, intoxication, stealing, inappropriate sexual behavior, and harming other living things.

Go on retreats. Going on spiritual retreats within the Buddhist community will give you a flavor of what life is like for a nun or monk.[22]XResearch source Talk to the nuns or monks you go on the retreat with, and begin practicing celibacy. You should also adopt the monk’s diet of vegetarianism during this time.

If you travel to Asia, you might be able to partake in a part-time ordination program where you can live as a monk or nun for a few days or weeks during the year.

Join a monastic community. If you are ordained outside the Buddhist community where you intend to stay, you will be taken on as a guest monk at the monastery or convent. The monastic community will give you advice on Buddhist practice and evaluate your understanding of Buddhism. After about two to three months, your monastery or nunnery will decide to accept you.[23]XResearch source

Undergo the ordination ceremony.[24]XResearch source Attain permission from the senior monk or abbot of your temple to become ordained. After getting the official monk’s robes, you’ll need to ask for the help of your fellow monks to shave your head.

When the ceremony begins, approach the senior monk and bow three times.

Hand over your official monk’s robes and recite a passage. The passage you recite will be decided by the senior monk or abbot, and come from the sayings of the Buddha.

After recitation of the passage, you will ask for the robes back in a formal way. You might also ask for a simple monk’s bowl. Then, make a formal request to be ordained. The specific content of this request will be explained by the abbot before the ceremony.

The abbot or senior monk will then administer the Three Refuges and Ten Precepts and give you your robes and/or bowl.

Contribute to the religious community. After being ordained, you’ll be expected to join a monastery for at least five years. This might be the same monastery you were ordained at, or a different one. You might also choose to join a dharma center under the guidance of your mentor(s).[25]XResearch source

When you join a monastery, you are forbidden from holding a “worldly job.” While basic amenities like food, clothing, and shelter are provided, you will need to work to obtain additional resources for your monastery. Many monks and nuns have the opportunity to offer their services to their dharma community in order to fulfill its needs. Talk to your abbot or spiritual mentor about opportunities within your monastery.

Complete the ordination form. The ordination forms vary from organization to organization, but they will all require certain pieces of basic information like your name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number, and gender. They might also ask for information about how you first heard about the program.

Never provide your Social Security Number to an online ordination program.

Pay the required fee. To receive your ordination certificate, you’ll usually need to pay a small fee with your credit card or PayPal account. Prices vary widely depending on the organization. While you might pay $75 for ordination within the Open Ministry, programs like the and the Church of Spiritual Humanism offer free ordinations. Compare prices of the various online ordination programs before settling on one.[29]XResearch source

After paying required fee and filling out the necessary forms, wait two to three weeks to receive your ordination certificate in the mail.

Understand the limits of your online ordination. Being ordained online could be seen as questionable if you later decide you want to get ordained through a more official body, like a church or Buddhist temple.[30]XResearch source Some states, furthermore, forbid marriages officiated by individuals who were ordained through online ordination programs.[31]XResearch source Think carefully about whether online ordination is right for you before going through with it.

You might actually face a legal penalty or fine if you officiate a wedding after being ordained online.

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.

If you want to be ordained as a Catholic minister, the church requires you to be at least 35 years old, male, and baptized. Start by earning a bachelor's degree from a university in the major of your choice. Next, enroll in seminary to become a Master of Divinity or Master of Arts in Theology. Then, submit an application to your local diocesan diaconate office along with any other requested materials. Once the application is approved, you'll be ordained in a special ceremony held by your church. For more tips from our Civil Litigation co-author, like how to get ordained as a Protestant, read on!